Paint it Black
Paint it Black is the first episode of Zeta Gundam on ROBLOX. It aired on YouTube on September 11, 2012 in English. The episode is based on Episodes 1 and 2 of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, titled The Black Gundam and Departure. In the episode, the AEUG travels to Green Noa I to capture the Titans' latest mobile suit, the RX-178 Gundam Mk. II. Background In space, a man in a pink normal suit is sitting in the cockpit of a red mobile suit. He is glancing at his screens and appears to be scanning for something. He signals to one of his wingmen, who is in a black version of the same MS that he's using - the Rick Dias. Apparently, these are new models, so he asks his wingman how he likes it. The man in pink is addressed as Quattro Bajeena. The scene then jumps to a somebody entering a school gym. From the doorway to the room, a voice pipes up. It belongs to the protagonist, Kamille Bidan. He is asking to be excused from practice and claims he is ill, but he board-breaking guy doesn't buy it. Kamille races through his high school and out the front door. However, he is stopped by the karate team captain, Mezun, who demands to know where he's going. Kamille offers a flimsy excuse, which the team captain responds saying that he can be truant if he wants to. Kamille gets up and resumes running. He is eventually caught up to by a black-haired girl, Fa Yuiry. She runs alongside him, calling his name. He's sullen at first, but she eventually gets it out of him that he's ditching practice. He also demands that she not call him by name, as he doesn't want to have to respond to the name she is using and betray that it's his. She retorts by pointing out that everybody already knows the name is his, anyway. The two encounter a taxi driver that takes Kamille and Fa to a linear car station. Fa jumps in beside him and gripes about his destination, which is the spaceport. However, before she can carp any further. Their destination is the linear car station. The linear car will then take them to the spaceport. Kamille seems to be in a rush, and Fa can't figure out why. He cuts the linear car countdown short and they depart. While in the taxi, Kamille senses a newtype's presence. In the distance, Quattro also senses something odd. He wonders if the funny feeling is being caused by Amuro Ray or Lalah Sune, although neither seems quite right. The linear car arrives at the spaceport, and Kamille rushes out of it. Fa asks what the big deal is about a shuttle from Earth, and is informed that the shuttle down below is the Temptation, which is piloted by none other than Bright Noa. Kamille also reveals that he got Bright's autograph once as a kid. Kamille decides to go looking for Bright. He floats around a corner and emerges into an atrium, noticing a group of Titans standing at the other end. Fa trails into the room behind him and calls his name to get his attention. Her shrill voice also happens to get the attention of one of the Titans, who turns around and makes a snarky comment regarding the gender of the name's bearer. Kamille is consumed by rage and strides forward, demanding an apology. The snarker, Lt. Jerid Messa, has but a few seconds to contemplate what is going on before he is smashed in the face by a left-hook. Eventually, a couple of MP's manage to grab both of Kamille's arms. Jerid walks over to him and punches Kamille. He taunts Kamille some more, causing him to assert his manhood a second time. In space, Quattro approaches the colony and sneaks in. It turns out that he is there to do reconnaissance on some new mobile suits that are under development at the colony, which is a Titans base. He launches himself into the air and floats around, taking pictures. It isn't long before one of the experimental MS's, a Gundam Mk-II, flies by him. He snaps some pictures as the Mk II notices him and attempts to give chase. However, Quattro is too small a target for the Mk II to hit. Quattro floats back to his Rick Dias and escapes from the colony, meeting up with his two wingmen. They continue to do reconnaissance from outside the colony. Elsewhere, Kamille is being interrogated by a really aggressive Texan MP, Matosh. The MP demands to know why Kamille picked a fight with a Titan and if he's ever heard of an organization called AEUG. The MP storms out of the room in frustration, leaving Kamille alone. Just then, the family lawyer walks in. He walks over to Kamille and unlocks his cuffs. Kamille starts to talk, and is taunted by the MP, who is standing in the doorway. He snarks in response, and gets a folder thrown at him. In a stunning display of recklessness, Kamille leaps across the table and kicks the MP in the face. The room partially collapses. It turns out that one of the Mk II's being tested has fallen onto the building. Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos, Kamille runs out of the room and down the hallway. As he passes through the atrium of the building, his mother Hilda spots him and calls to him. He ignores her and continues out the front door. Frantically looking around for a further means of escape, Kamille spots a jeep sitting idle nearby with the key still in the ignition. He leaps in and floors it. Back at the broken building, the hatch to the Gundam Mk II opens and Jerid climbs out to assess the damage. He was apparently test-piloting the MS and made a misstep. He muses that the damage to the building looks awful. Kamille, meanwhile, is barreling down the road in his jeep and is able to get a better view of the overall scene of the accident. By this time, another Mk II has flown in to help lift the first one off of the crushed building. Kamille notices that he's approaching a suspension bridge that traverses one of the wide glass panels built into the colony wall. The bridge will be long, and will afford no turn-offs or other avenues of escape should the soldiers now pursuing him manage to catch up to him. He realizes that he will have to abandon his jeep. Kamille lets the car decelerate slightly and then jumps from the driver's seat. He frontflips out of the car and into the forest, wondering how he was able to wreck his life so thoroughly in such a short amount of time. The car, for what it's worth, has really good suspension and continues across the bridge. Back in space, Quattro signals the Argama to fire a laser and blow an opening in the side of the colony. The show then cuts to a ROBLOX Commercial The Argama blows a hole in one of the colony mirrors, and the three Rick Diases move forward. They position themselves in front of the colony wall and one of them fires, blowing a hole in it. Suddenly, Quattro is overtaken by a strange sensation and begins to hear heavy breathing. He wonders again if it's Amuro Ray or Lalah Sune, but then realizes that it is neither. It is coming from an unknown source. Kamille has been running nonstop through the woods in an attempt to get back to the Gundam Mk-II's. He arrives just in time to see one lift the other off of the crushed building. Back at the base, the disabled Mk-II has been loaded onto a flatbed truck. A warning siren goes off, and the other Mk-II flies away in response. Jerid climbs down off of the flatbed to meet Emma, who has just pulled up in a Jeep. She chews him out for causing the accident, telling him that it was due to his reckless flying. He more or less blows her off by offering some flimsy excuses, and then says that he doesn't have to answer to her anyway, as she's not his superior. Just then, Bright Noa arrives, demanding to know why Jerid and Emma haven't yet responded to the siren going off. Jerid figures that all the commotion is probably over something minor, but Emma wonders if it could be AEUG-related. Jerid then hails a jeep and jumps in, driving off and yelling back over his shoulder that he's going to prepare for an attack. Emma hollers back that they don't actually know if it is. Quattro and his wingmen are flying through the colony looking for the Mk-II when they are spotted. They come under attack from three GM's, which causes Quattro to grumble about the Earth Federation not understanding that colonies are more fragile than the Earth. Quattro, for his part, is concerned about damaging the colony himself, but at the same time hopes to capture a Mk-II for the AEUG. The Rick Diases quickly lay waste to the GM's. Over on Green Noa II, Bask Om is watching the proceedings and musing that it looks like the Red Comet is there, despite the fact that he doesn't think that's possible. Franklin Bidan is standing nearby and wonders if the Rick Dias is a new model. He is informed by Jamaican Daninghan that it is not a Federation suit and therefore must belong to the AEUG. Franklin rather cavalierly replies that they can have the data if they want it, which displeases Bask. Bask declares that since the AEUG operatives have seen the facilities on Green Noa I, they cannot be allowed to escape. He boards a shuttle for Green Noa 1 right away. Back on Green Noa I, the Rick Diases are in a heated skirmish with more GM's. Although the GM's try, they are older suits and simply cannot keep up with the slick maneuverability of the Rick Diases. They fly low to the ground as they buzz the area. In the residential area, chaos reigns as Fa arrives in a small electric car to pick up her mother and head for evacuation. As they drive, they pass Kamille's house. Fa stops the car and insists on going in, telling her mom to go on ahead and that she would catch up. Fa's mom protests. Elsewhere, Kamille is looking for a way to sneak onto the base. He finds an unlocked gate and runs through, but doesn't get very far before he is halted by a soldier. The soldier recognizes him as Franklin Bidan's son and they decide to let him go, despite the fact that he was a wanted man earlier that day. Kamille runs onto the base. Quattro and his wingmen finally intercept a Mk-II and begin to engage it in battle. Quattro states that he wants the robot in mint condition. The pilot of the Mk-II is none other than Kacricon Cacooler, who flies his Mk-II back toward the base with the Rick Diases in hot pursuit. Down below, Bright runs across the tarmac demanding to know if Mk-II Unit 3 is ready and who is to fly it. Emma approaches him and says that she is to pilot the suit. Bright is surprised, as he had thought that Emma was still in training. However, before Emma gets a chance to climb aboard, Kamille flashes past her and ascends the flatbed to the Gundam. Just then, a Jeep pulls up and Matosh climbs out, demanding to know why Unit 3 hasn't been launched yet. Kamille recognizes him as the man who gave him grief earlier. Bright and Emma watch in shock as Kamille drops into the cockpit of the Mk-II. Emma attempts to speak to him, but he closes the door in her face. She wonders how he is able to operate the suit, as he has presumably never had training. Inside the cockpit, Kamille looks over all the levers and switches, musing that the data he stole from his dad's computer would finally come in handy. He decides that he's going to go after the guy who beat him up. Outside, Bright and Emma are hollering at Kamille to get out of the Mk-II, but to no avail. The Gundam begins to move. Bright runs out of the hangar and borrows the microphone on a nearby jeep, demanding that the Mk-II stand down. Matosh demands that Bright hurry up and send Unit 3 into battle, unaware of who is in the cockpit. Kamille gets the Gundam to sit up, which shocks Bright and Emma. He also addresses them by name, which further surprises them as they have never met him before. Kamille continues to get the Gundam to stand up, punching a hole through the ceiling of the hangar in the process. Bright watches, awestruck, and wonders if he might be like Amuro Ray. Just then, Unit 2 lands on the tarmac along with Quattro's Rick Diases, which hold him at gunpoint. Apolly notices Unit 3 and points it out to Quattro, who is surprised to see another Mk-II. Kamille notices the red Rick Dias and wonders if it belongs to the Red Comet. The Rick Diases decide to take Unit 2 with them. Kacricon is unaware of what's transpired on the base and thinks that Jerid is in Unit 3. He pleads with Jerid to do something to prevent the capture of his unit, but to no avail. Kamille remembers that Matosh is there, and decides to use the Mk-II to exact retribution for the interrogation he received earlier. He launches the Gundam into the air, surprising everyone, and lands it practically on top of the terrified MP. He then proceeds to strafe the ground with some bullets and laugh like a maniac. Quattro wonders what's going on while Bright wonders if Kamille's gone mad. Quattro realizes that Unit 2 is not their enemy, and seizes the opportunity to pick up two units instead of just one. Kamille proves that he is on the same side as the Rick Diases by smashing Kacricon's Mk-II into the remains of the building and threatening to further crush the cockpit if he does not voluntarily leave. In this way, he enables the AEUG to capture Unit 2. Bright thinks Kamille may be a newtype. In the residential zone, the battle rages on. Fa enters Kamille's house and goes up into his bedroom. She looks over his posessions and wonders what to grab, musing that none of his awards seem that important now. Suddenly, her reverie is interrupted by the hand of Roberto's Rick Dias smashing through the wall. Fa runs outside, only to narrowly miss getting stepped on by a GM, which has ass-planted onto Kamille's house. Quattro meets back up with Roberto while Fa runs down the street, hands over her head. The Rick Dias team begins to leave the colony with their stolen Mk-II's. As Kamille passes over his neighborhood, he ruefully notices that his house has been destroyed and is surprised to see Fa running down the street. Quattro asks if he's still coming with them, and Kamille says yes. Elsewhere, Bright and Emma report to Bask Om in the middle of Kacricon's sob story. Bright addresses Bask and wants to know why the Mk-II training was carried out on Green Noa 1, as training could've been carried out on Green Noa 2 without civilian casualties. He is answered with a punch in the face. Bask declares that the Titans forces are different from regular Federation Forces. Bright says that's not so. He also says that if the Titans keep antagonizing people, they'll be doing the AEUG's work for them. His response is a beating. Quattro and his team are attempting to exit the colony through the same hole that they came in by. Quattro shoots some sticky substance to partially seal the hole, narrowing the escape clearance even more. Each suit must proceed through the hole one at a time, and the other pilots worry about Unit 3. However, he makes it through. The Titans, of course, are hot on their heels. Jerid is leading the pursuit in a Hizack but doesn't get very far before the leg of his MS is shot off by Quattro. Jerid is astonished that Quattro was able to hit him with his very first shot. Kamille and Quattro settles in for the returning to the Argama. Episode Production So far the only archive that's even been shown on YouTube prior to the release was just a 15 second clip of a GM II exploding in mid air and a "bloopers" video stating that there is only 15 days left of production. The blooper video was released on August 27, 2012. Within the last two weeks of development of the episode, Nick De Leon has had problems obtaining voice over from Emma Sheen's original voice actress, Sarah Runckel, whom is the wife of Brandon Runckel, Kamille Bidan's voice actor. This then lead to going through two understudies, the first was Sadie Solper, who was the official voice actress for Fraw Bow in Mobile Suit Gundam on ROBLOX. Ironically, Solper was unavailable as well, which lead to De Leon voicing for Emma in the first episode. Within the last three days of development until the episodes release, De Leon as well has voiced for Jamaican, Fa, Roberto, and Emma. De Leon states that the voiceover he done for Jamaican and Roberto seemed to wooden despite De Leon's talent. As announced on September 13, the Episode will be redone with some new voice over for Emma, Roberto, and Jamaican. The episode is based on Episodes 1 and 2 of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Many physical changes have been made to characters to dress like people from the year 2012 instead of something from 1985. Another change that has been done was that Jamaican Daninghan has been turned into an Afro-Jamaican that is a stereotype of Bob Marley. The changes included modern architecture to the spaceport. There were roughly 10 different sets designed in the ROBLOX studio for Episode 1. Cast Trivia *The episode is going to be released as an abridged episode for NikeTube Shorts with full audio provided by Rizarck. The short is titled, "Zeta Gundam on ROBLOX Abridged Category:Zeta Gundam on ROBLOX Episodes